Sarasota Bay Flats & Night Snook Action Heating Up
Capt. Rick Grassett
December 7, 2013
Sarasota - Saltwater Fishing Report
Anglers fishing with me on my Action Craft flats skiff the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB's Saltwater Outfitters on Siesta Key, caught and released trout and bluefish in Sarasota Bay, snook at night in the ICW and tripletail in the coastal gulf on flies during the past couple of weeks. The best action was fly fishing for snook at night in the ICW.
A strong front with winds above 20 mph pushed through early Thanksgiving week. Since I was due for maintenance on my outboard, it was a good time to put my boat in the shop for service. John Nelson, from Tampa, FL, his son, Mark and son-in-law, Chris, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday, 11/29. Since all 3 were fly anglers, our plan was to wade shallow flats. However with a 10- degree drop in water temperature, we didn't find anything in that zone. We drifted deeper grass flats near Stephens Point where they caught and released trout on intermediate sink tip fly lines and Ultra Hair Clouser flies. Mark and Chris each caught and released their first saltwater trout on flies!
Patrice Camillieri, from France, fished Sarasota Bay and the coastal gulf with me on Monday, 12/2 and again on Thursday, 12/5. We fished deep grass flats on both sides of the bay on Monday where he caught and released trout, including a couple of upper slot fish, and bluefish on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly. He sight fished a 6-pound tripletail on my Grassett Flats Minnow fly in the coastal gulf with me on Thursday morning and later we moved to skinny water in Sarasota Bay where he caught and released a 6-pound "gator" trout on the same fly! I feel that these big trout, which are mostly females that may be full of roe, are important to the health of our trout fishery, so I release all trout over 20".
Bill Rhodes, from Hernando Beach, FL, snook fished with me in the ICW on Tuesday evening, 12/4. He had nonstop action catching and releasing numerous snook to 24" on my Grassett Snook Minnow fly. With a good incoming tide, compounded by a south wind and a warming trend following the last front, snook gorged themselves on glass minnows and shrimp. Every once in a while several factors will align and the bite will be amazing. It's good to be there when it happens!
Bill also caught and released trout, ladyfish and bluefish in Sarasota Bay on flies with me on Wednesday, 12/5. He understands the advantage of fishing the entire water column and had his fly rods rigged with floating, intermediate and faster sinking fly lines. Bill also has a lot of success fishing tandem flies, a very effective technique for fishing deep grass flats. We fished deep grass flats from 5' to 8' on both sides of the bay and he had steady action including a couple of doubles where he caught a fish on each fly!
Snook season is now closed through the end of February on the west coast, but there should be good catch and release action with snook around lighted docks at night in the ICW. Use tackle heavy enough to catch and release them quickly and handle them gently. Big trout are moving into shallow water in Sarasota Bay where you may find them in potholes when the tide is low. Fishing deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay for trout, blues and more should also be a good inshore option next week. Look for false albacore and tripletail in the coastal gulf when conditions are good.
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
Orvis- Endorsed Outfitter Guide
CB's Saltwater Outfitters-2011 Orvis Outfitter of the Year
Sarasota Fishing Forecast:
Capt. Rick Grassett's Sarasota, FL Fishing Forecast for December 2013
This should be a good month for reds. You may find reds along with big trout concentrated in potholes or along the edges of bars in Sarasota Bay or they may tail on shallow grass flats when the tide is low. This is also a good month for catch and release snook action around lighted docks in the ICW. Some lights will also have trout and reds making it possible to get a dock "slam". There may be good action in the coastal gulf with false albacore (little tunny), Spanish mackerel and tripletail depending on conditions.
Snook season closes on the west coast of Florida this month so all snook must be released. Snook fishing around lighted docks can be good this month unless it gets too cool. I don't recommend fishing for snook following a strong cold front or if the water dips below 60 degrees. However, it can be very good in December under normal conditions. Larger baitfish will thin out and snook will gorge themselves on glass minnows and small shrimp in the ICW at night. I like docks that have a good tidal flow and deep water under them. CAL jigs with shad tails and jerk worms or DOA shrimp are my favorite lures for snook at night. Fly anglers should do well with sink tip fly lines and small white flies. Fish peak tidal flows for the fastest action. The ICW between Sarasota and Venice is my favorite area for night snook fishing in December.
Reds may be in potholes or along the edges of flats and bars when the tide is low. They may also tail on shallow grass when the tide is low. Weedless rigged CAL shad tails and jerk worms, DOA shrimp, gold spoons and lightly weighted flies with weed guards will work well in that situation. As the tide rises, reds will spread out and feed on shallow flats. You may also find them around docks this month. I usually let the stage of the tide tell me where to look for reds.
You may also find big trout in skinny water this month in many of the same areas where you find reds. The same lures and techniques that I use for reds will also work for trout in the same areas. I release all big trout (over 20") since they are usually females and I feel it is important that they are left in the water as breeders. You should also find trout on deep grass flats this month along with blues, flounder or pompano. Blues may sometimes feed on the surface, so bird activity may give their presence away. Pompano may skip when you drift or run past them and when that happens, circle back upwind and drift through the area casting ahead of your drift. Flounder prefer a mix of sand and grass, particularly in potholes or on the edges of bars. I like to drift and cast ahead of my drift with CAL jigs and a variety of plastic tails or DOA Deadly Combos. Fly anglers should score with sink tip fly lines and weighted flies, like Clousers or my Grassett Deep Flats Bunny fly, which behaves like a jig with a shad tail. I like the shallow flats of north Sarasota Bay for reds and trout in December and deep grass flats close to passes, on points and along sand bars for trout, blues, flounder and pompano.
There should still be good action in the coastal gulf with Spanish mackerel, blues, false albacore and tripletail. Rough or cold water later in the month may slow the action and move fish south or offshore. Look for terns either diving or hovering low over the surface of the water to find albies, blues and mackerel feeding on the surface. Once you've found them, cast top water plugs or CAL jigs with shad tails to catch them. Fly anglers should score with glass minnow fly patterns, poppers or Crease flies. Sometimes top water plugs or fly poppers will draw fish to the surface, especially over structure. You'll need to add wire or heavy fluorocarbon to your leader when blues and mackerel are around. Look for tripletail around crab trap floats or channel markers. Once you've located a fish, work back into the wind or current with an electric trolling motor to get into casting range and cast live or DOA shrimp, CAL jigs with shad tails or lightly weighted flies to them. Try to make your first shot count since they are much tougher to catch once they know you're there.
There will be lots of options in December, although fishing becomes more affected by weather. When fishing flats, I usually let conditions and the stage of the tide determine when, where and what I will target. I like to fish the coastal gulf for false albacore and tripletail whenever conditions are good. Whatever you choose to do, please limit your kill, don't kill your limit!
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
Orvis Endorsed Outfitter Guide
CB's Saltwater Outfitters-2011 Orvis Outfitter of the Year
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
Capt. Rick Grassett's Sarasota, FL Fly Fishing Forecast for December 2013
You may find reds along with big trout concentrated in potholes, along the edges of bars or tailing on shallow grass flats when the tide is low this month. This is a good month for catch and release snook action around lighted docks in the ICW. Some lights will also have trout and reds making it possible to get a dock "slam". There may also be good action in the coastal gulf with false albacore (little tunny), Spanish mackerel and tripletail, depending on conditions.
Snook season closes on the west coast of Florida this month, although catch and release snook fishing around lighted docks at night can be good unless it gets too cool. I don't recommend fishing for snook following a strong cold front or if the water temperature dips below 60 degrees. However, it can be very good in December under normal conditions. Larger baitfish will thin out and snook will gorge themselves on glass minnows and small shrimp in the ICW at night. I like docks that have a good tidal flow and deep water under them. Fly anglers should do well with sink tip fly lines and small white flies, like my Grassett Snook Minnow. Shrimp Gurglers on floating lines may work well when snook are chasing shrimp in the lights. Fish peak tidal flows for the fastest action. The ICW between Sarasota and Venice is my favorite area for night snook fishing in December.
Reds may be in potholes or along the edges of flats and bars when the tide is low. They may also tail on shallow grass flats of Sarasota Bay, lower Tampa Bay or Gasparila Sound on negative low tides. Lightly weighted flies, like Clousers or my Grassett Flats Minnow, will work well in that situation. Weed guards are important when targeting reds on shallow grass. Spoon flies are another good choice when hunting for reds although you may need to add a small (#10) black barrel swivel ahead of your bite tippet to prevent twist in your leader depending on which spoon fly you use. You may also find reds around docks this month. Use a sink tip fly line and a weighted fly to get your fly into the strike zone for reds. You may also find big trout in skinny water this month in many of the same areas where you find reds. The same flies and techniques that I use for reds will also work for trout in the same areas. I release all big trout (over 20") since they are usually females and I feel it is important that they are left in the water as breeders.
You should also find trout on deep grass flats this month along with blues, Spanish mackerel, flounder or pompano. Blues and mackerel will sometimes feed on the surface in the bay, so bird activity may give their presence away. Pompano may skip when you drift or run past them and when that happens, circle back upwind and drift through the area casting ahead of your drift. Flounder prefer a mix of sand and grass, particularly in potholes or on the edges of bars. Fly anglers should score with sink tip fly lines and weighted flies, like Ultra Hair Clousers or my Grassett Deep Flats Bunny fly, which behaves like a jig with a shad tail. I tie Ultra Hair Clousers on long shank hooks, leaving a portion of the hook shank exposed, when toothy fish are around. I like the shallow flats of north Sarasota Bay for reds and trout in December and deep grass flats of Sarasota Bay that are close to passes, on points and along sand bars for trout, blues, flounder and pompano.
There should still be good action in the coastal gulf with Spanish mackerel, blues, false albacore and tripletail. Look for terns either diving or hovering low over the surface of the water to find albies, blues and mackerel feeding just below the surface. Once you've found them, cast glass minnow fly patterns, poppers or Crease flies to them. Fly poppers may draw fish to the surface, especially over structure. You'll need to add wire or heavy fluorocarbon to your leader when blues and mackerel are around. Look for tripletail around crab trap floats or channel markers. Once you've located a fish, work back into the wind or current with an electric trolling motor to get into casting range and cast a lightly weighted fly to them. Weed guards are important to avoid hooking the crab trap lines. Try to make your first shot count since they are much tougher to catch once they know you're there.
There should be lots of options in December, although fishing becomes more affected by weather. When conditions are good, I like to fish the coastal gulf for albies, tripletail and more. If you're able to choose when to fish, fish ahead of fronts or on the strongest tides for the best action. Shallow water action can be very good on low winter tides. Whatever you choose to do, please limit your kill, don't kill your limit!
Tight Lines,
Capt. Rick Grassett
Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, Inc.
Orvis Endorsed Outfitter Guide
CB's Saltwater Outfitters-2011 Orvis Outfitter of the Year
FFF Certified Fly Casting Instructor
Target Species:
reds, trout, snook, Spanish mackerel, tripletail, false albacore & blues
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